Main Street Historic District

Genoa's downtown core in Ottawa County, Ohio, is a compact district of 35 buildings, mostly one- and two-story brick and cement block storefronts along the 500 and 600 blocks of Main Street. Related structures nearby include a frame lumber yard, a limestone former interurban power station, a Grange Hall, a relocated 1856 schoolhouse and the old railroad bed. Buildings date from 1867 to 1937, with several from the early 1900s following a 1906 fire. Many show Italianate bracketed or corbelled cornices, while others reflect plain early 20th century commercial design. The district was recognized as a well-preserved example of a small Ohio village business center where shops, civic buildings, industry and transportation sat side by side. Limestone quarried locally shaped both the town's economy and its building materials, and the railroad, interurban line and automobile dealerships mark successive eras of change. A group of small, finely proportioned one-story brick blocks from the 1890s sets the village apart from larger neighbors.